Combination internal retaining ring, adjustable positioner and swivel bearing for guns



sept. 21, 1965 fdl L. F. NORTON Original Filed March 27, 1963 POSITIONER AND SWIVEL BEARING FOR GUNS COMBINATION INTERNAL RETAINING RING, ADJUSTABLE United States Patent O 3,207,036 COMBINATION INTERNAL RETAINING RING,

ADJUSTABLE POSITIONER AND SWIVEL BEAR- ING FOR GUNS Leo F. Norton, Troy, N.Y., assignor to the United States f America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Continuation of application Ser. No. 268,503, Mar. 27, 1963. This application Nov. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 416,177 4 Claims. (Cl. 89-191) (Granted under Title 35, U.S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental \purposes without the payment to me of any royalty therelon.

This application is a continua-tion of my application for Combination Internal Retaining Ring, Adjustable Positioner and Swivel Bearing for Guns, Serial No. I268,- S03, -led March 27, 1963, now abandoned.

This invention relates t-o guns and more particularly to the items of hardware therein.

I-t is the principal object of this invention to facilitate the manufacture and maintenance of guns by providing hardware which serves a multiplicity of functions, which, in its use, eliminates difficult machining operations, and which is easily installed and replaced in the guns.

It is the particular object of this invention to provide a pop-ring which is easily installe-d and replaced in a gun and which serves therein as a swivel bearing, an internal retainer, and an adjustable positioner.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof wil-1 clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying Idrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinally cross-sectioned view of a :firearm showing three 4different ways in which the popring of this invention may be used to advantage;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-section of one type of popring; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing how the pop-ring is installed in the gas cylinder of the gun.

Shown in the figures is a firearm 12 which is of spotting mille type and which is mounted on a basic weapon (not shown) of artillery type so th-at the bore taxis of the tirearm may be adjust-ably related to the bore axis of the basic weapon as hereinafter described.

Firearm 12 includes a receiver 14, a barrel 16, which extends forwardly therefrom, and -a gas cylinder 18 lixedly mounted on the barrel. Gas cylinder 18 is provided with a longitudinally ldisposed bore 20 which has communication with the Vbore of barrel 16 and which Slidingly receives a piston 22. Piston 22 is formed on the front end of an loperating rod 24, which is of smaller diameter, so that an annular portion of the rear end of the piston is exposed, as shown at 25. The front end of bore 20 is cio-sed lby a plug 26. Instead of stopping rear displacement of piston 22 conventionally by counterboring gas cylinder 18 t-o for-m an annular shoulder which is contactable by portion 25, bore 20 is instead extended all the way through the gas cylinder with the rearward displacement of the piston bein-g limited by a .pop-.ring 28 installed in the bore -as hereinafter described. Pop-ring 28 has a conguration of a band and is provided with an inside diameter similar to the diameter of operating rod 24, so that the operating rod is Slidingly received thereby, and with an outside surface 30 of spherical config-uration with a radius slightly greater than that of bore 20. The distance between the axis of pop-ring 28 yand the edge of outside surface 30 at the front and rear ends of the pop-ring is essentially similar to the radius of bore 20.

Pop-ring 28 is received by `an annular channel 32 3,207,036 Patented Sept. 21, 1965 formed around the wall of bore 20 at the rear end. The surface of channel 32 is spherical in coniiguration and has a radius similar to that of outside surface 30 so that pop-ring 28 is rotatable around the center thereof when installed in the channel. Pop-ring 28 is installed in channel 32 by contacting outside surface 30 of the popring with the rear end of gas cylinder 18 at the mouth 0f bore 20 (see FIG. 3) and then pressing the pop-ring edgewi-se thereinto until received by channel 32. Popring 28 is easily presse-d into and removed from bore 20 because it is readily contracted transversally, but the pop-ring resists axial contraction against considerable force when it is turned so as to be cro-axial with bore 20 and in full engagement with channel 32.

Slidingly mounted in receiver 14 is a bolt 34 which is arranged to be energized by piston 22 through operating rod 24 and which is of conventional twoapiece telescopic type having a carrier 36 and a cylindrical bolt hea-d 38 disposed for telescopic and rotational displacement relative thereto. Bolt 34 is biased to the 'battery position by a pair of coil springs 40. The rear 'ends of springs 40 have contact with the rear end of receiver 14 and the front portions are received by corresponding holes 42 longitudinally disposed through carrier 36. The front end of each of the springs 40 has contact with a pop-ring 44 which is similar to pop-ring 28 in design except that the inside surface i-s concavely formed, as shown in FIG. 3, and it is installed in a channel 46, similar to channel 32, in the associ-ated hole 42. Where the cyclic rate of firearm 12 is to be regulatable, .a plurality of channels 46 are formed along each of the holes 42 in predetermined spaced relationship so that pop-ring 44 may be selectively positioned therein to vary the preload of the related springs 40 and thereby the cyclic rate ofthe firearm.

As has been noted hereinbefore, firearm 12 is mounted on the basic weapon (not shown) so that the bore axes thereof may be adjustably related. This is accomplished by mounting the front end of firearm 12 to the basic weapon by a swivel :bearing 48 and providing 4Suitable means (not shown) for adjustably displacing the rear end of the firearm. Bearing 48 includes a brac-ket 50 which is fixed to the basic weapon (not shown) so as to extend outwardly therefrom. A longitudinal aperture 52 extends longitudinally through bracket 50 and provided therein is a channel 56 which is similar to channel 32. Rotationally mounted in channel 56 is a lpop-ring 58 which is similar to pop-ring 28 and which is provided with a cylindrical orifice 60 therethrough t-o receive barrel 16. Suflicient clearance must :be provided between barrel 16 and the Wall of aperture 52 to permit angular displace-ment of firearm 12. This may be achieved by countersinking aperature 52 at both ends yas shown at 62.

-Erom lthe foregoing it is clearly apparent that there is provided herein for guns an item of hardware which facilitates t-he manufacture and maintenance thereof.

Although a particular embodiment of the inventi-on has been described in detail herein, it is evident that many variations may be devised Within the spirit land scope thereof and the following claims are intended to include such variations.

I claim:

1. In a gun, a single piece, rigid member having a cylindrical bore, an annular channel of spherical conguration in the wall of said bore, a pop-ring of circumferentially continuous circular configuration, said pop-ring being of resilient material and so dimensioned as to be radially collapsible by transverse pressure and resiliently revertible to circular configuration when the pressure is removed, said pop-ring having a spherical outside surface with a radius similar to that of said channel so that said pop-ring is matingly received thereby for rotation in all directions about the center thereof and a spherical inside surface concentric with said outer surface, and said channel being dimensionally related to said bore and to the resiliency of said pop-ring so that said pop-ring is insertable into and displaceable from said channel only when positioned edgewise respective to said bore and pressed thereinto.

2. In a gun, the combination including a gas cylinder, a longitudinal bore -in said gas cylinder, a piston slidingly mounted in said bore for reciprocation in forward and rearward strokes, an operating rod having a diameter smaller than that of said piston extending rearwardly therefrom, an annular shoulder formed at the junction of said piston and said operating rod, au annular channel of spherical configuration formed in said bore rearwardly of said piston, a pop-ring of circumferentially continuous configuration, said pop-ring having a spherical outside surface with a radius similar to that of said channel so that said pop-ring is matingly received thereby for rotation in all directions about the center thereof and an inside diameter less than that of said bore so that said pop-ring is contactable by said shoulder to stop the rearward travel of said piston, and said channel being dimensionally related to said bore and to the resiliency of said pop-ring so that said pop-ring is insertable into and displaceable from said channel only when positioned edgewise respective to said bore and pressed thereinto.

3. The combination as defined in claim 2 wherein said pop-ring is provided with a spherical inside surface concentric with said outer surface.

4. The combination as dened in claim 2 wherein said pop-ring is provided with a coaxial inner surface of cylindrical configuration.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,225,472 l2/ 40 Franklin 16-2 X 2,702,95 8 3/ 5 5 Boroszewsk 42-75 FOREIGN PATENTS 637,901 5/50 Great Britain.

20 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

SAMUEL W. ENGLE, Examiner. 

2. IN A GUN, THE COMBINATIN INCLUDING A GAS CYLINDER, A LONGITUDINAL BORE IN SAID GAS CYLINDER, A PISTON SLIDINGLY MOUNTED IN SAID BORE FOR RECIPROCATION IN FORWARD AND REARWARD STROKES, AN OPERATING ROD HAVING A DIAMETER SMALLER THAN THAT OF SAID PISTON EXTENDING REARWARDLY THEREFORM, AND ANNULAR SHOULDER FORMED AT THE JUNCTION OF SAID PISTON AND SAID OPERATING ROD, AN ANNULAR CHANNEL FO SPHERICAL CONFIGURATION FORMED IN SAID BORE REARWARDLY OF SAID PISTON, A POP-RING OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY CONTINUOUS CONFIGURATION, SAID POP-RING HAVINGA SPHERICAL OUTSIDE SURFACE WITH A RADIUS SIMILAR TO THAT OF SAID CHANNEL SO THAT SAID PIP-RING IS MATINGLY RECEIVED THEREBY FOR ROTATION IN ALL DIRECTIONS ABOUT THE CENTER THEREOF FOR ROTATION IN AMETER LESS THAN THAT OF SAID BORE SO THAT SAID POP-RING IS CONTACTABLE BY SAID SHOULDER TO STOP THE REARWARD TRAVEL OF SAID PISTON, AND SAID CHANNEL BEING DIMENSIONALLY RELATED TO SAID BORE AND TO THE RESILIENCY OF SAID POP-RING SO THAT SAID POP-RING IS INSERTABLE INTO AND DISPLACABLE FROM SAID CHANNEL ONLY WHEN POSITIONED EDGEWISE RESPECTIVE TO SAID BORE AND PRESSED THEREINTO. 